It is great to have the luxury to worry about trivial things. I was reading today about the current financial crisis in Iran - not the worldwide one that has been going on for years but rather the fact that they have experienced 400% inflation in just a few months due to the economic sanctions imposed by most of the First World. Of course disastrous economic mismanagement is probably a big factor but the Iran leadership and the US are trying to blame each other exclusively for the mess. I read a bit about the situation there and it seemed utterly hopeless for the average person; merchants are terrified to sell anything because they have no idea what money is worth and everyone is worried about inflation becoming even more severe in the
coming days. Being a crazy totalitarian theocracy certainly isn't helping their case and the more I read about Iran the more appreciative I become of what I have.
I was talking this week with another parent who emigrated from Iran a few years ago and the stories she told me were just beyond belief. Living through war and crazy religious lifestyle enforcement police
are something I can hardly even imagine, let alone being willing to move across the globe to a new country where everything is unfamiliar and everyone is left behind. I worry and fuss about Elli getting
involved in the right clubs and check out the Girl Guides for religious infection before I approve of her joining. I get in trouble with various authorities because I want to go barefoot everywhere and don't like being told what to wear. I get extremely bitter that my country is wasting funds on fighter jets instead of doing things that are useful. Yet despite all this fussing there is no way Elli is going to be forced to join a religion, the restrictions on my personal freedom of expression are minimal, and my country has no plans to
*use* said fighter jets (which is a good reason to not buy them).
While it is sad that people are living through the mess that is Iran (and Iran isn't the worst place in the world to live, consider North Korea...) it does make me feel better about Canada that I have the luxury about worrying about so many small things. I spend so much of my time fired up writing about some injustice or other that it is probably a healthy thing to get slapped about with a comparison that makes my rants seem unimportant. I live in a good place, in a good time, and I should remember that. It shouldn't convince me to be complacent though as we can always do better but realizing exactly how good I have it and how bad things could be is critical to maintaining proper perspective.
And that's why it's so important to vote whenever you get the opportunity. Give voice to your convictions. You have that basic freedom.
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